Gas turbine engines, such as those used on jet aircraft, generally comprise an air intake port, a fan mounted on a hub near the air intake port and surrounded by a fan case, a low pressure compressor (LPC) section, an intermediate section aft of the LPC section, a high pressure compressor (HPC) section, a combustion chamber or combustor, high and low pressure turbines that provide rotational power to the compressor blades and fan respectively, and an exhaust outlet. The fan and LPC section may be operably connected to the low pressure turbine by an inner drive shaft which rotates about an engine center axis. A cone-like spinner may be mounted over the hub forward the fan blades to help guide air flow.
Some sections of the engine include airfoil assemblies comprising airfoils (typically blades or vanes) mounted at one or both ends to an annular endwall. Included among these sections is the fan section in which fan guide vanes help direct air coming off the fan.
Modem gas turbine engines employ very high air velocities and working temperatures in order to increase engine operating efficiency. Hollow aluminum fan guide vanes and other structures exposed to these high air velocities and temperatures can vibrate, which can pose a risk of damage due to metal fatigue.
The present disclosure addresses this problem.